German Empire/Parties
The German Empire is a federal semi-constitutional monarchy ruled by the German Kaiser (who is also King of Prussia). Although Germany has many political parties, its state policies remain rather authoritarian, and the Constitution of the Second German Reich has stood in place for 60 years. The Chancellor and Government are appointed by the Kaiser, but legislation needs to be approved by the Reichstag, a chamber elected proportionally by universal male suffrage, and the Bundesrat, consisting of representatives from each of the states, chosen by their state governments. While the Reichstag is far from a rubber-stamp institution, and has become increasingly vocal and assertive over the past thirty years, it is not yet strong enough that it can actually bring down a Government. The relative weakness of the Reichstag has meant that a wide range of political activist pressure groups have sprung up, attempting to push forward a range of economic, political and sectional causes. In addition, the various states of the Reich have considerable autonomy and influence over local matters, including education, law enforcement and arts patronage, with them even being able to influence federal legislation over the Bundesrat. ''While many of the smaller states have extremely liberal constitutions, the unequal Estate-based electoral system for the Prussian Landtag also remains a bone of contention. Despite its authoritarian nature, the German political system is favorable to multi-party politics; each party represents some part of the Kaiserreich's general population, and in these troubled times, each one can appeal to the common citizen and gain power. ''Important notice: This page contains lore relevant to the upcoming Germany rework, and it may not reflect the current in-game setup that well. The ultimate goal, to eventually fully transpose the changes made to the lore in-game, still stands. This lore also may not be final, and some minor changes may occur. Deutsche Organisation der Internationale The DOI '(German Organisation of the internationale) was created in the aftermath of failed German Revolution in September 1918. It was created by the members of the Spartakusgruppe as well as prominent USPD members Karl Liebknecht , Rosa Luxemburg , Ernst Toller, Erich Mühsam and Augustin Souchy. The organisation, declared illegal by the government, was forced into the underground. Its main bases of operations are Berlin, Dresden and Leipzig, were Karl Liebknechts theories and ideas are still strong and backed by workers and even some SPD-aligned trade union representatives. The authoritarian wing of the DOI is lead by Ernst Thälmann. Thälmann, known for his more aggressive approach, advocates for a more violent strategy to overthrow the Kaiser and the capitalist government. Together with other radical members of the DOI, he created paramilitary forces, supposedly trained in France. His supporters are mostly found along the Rhine and in the Ruhr area. Albeit a part of the DOI, they despise Liebknecht and his followers as too weak to lead the organisation. Freie Vereinigung deutscher Gewerkschaften The '''FVdG '(Free Association of German Trade Unions) was founded in 1897 as an umbrella organisations for free trade unions. After being dismissed by the SPD for being to radical in 1907, the trade union representatives of the FVdG decided to look to France where the CGT just adopted the anarcho-syndicalist Charter of Amiens. At the first international syndicalist congress in London in 1913, Fritz Kater, a leading member, was elected to be the president of the congress. During the Weltkrieg the FVdG strongly opposed the Burgfriedenspolitik of the SPD and openly agitated against the war. The government suppressed the trade union and many of its members were imprisoned or drafted by the military. The unions newspaper “Der Syndikalist” (The Syndicalist) was founded in 1918. The FVdG is an ally of the French CGT and the DOI and advocates for a peaceful revolution in Germany. Even though the organisation strongly opposed the Spartakusgruppe’ violent uprising, it was forced into the underground after the enabling act was passed. The group has many representatives exiled in France and Britain including the influential Rudolf Rocker, an associate of its current leader Fritz Kater. The trade union presently fights Ernst Thälmanns growing influence in the Ruhr area, wishing to continue it’s peaceful revolutionary path. '''Underground members: Karl Liebknecht, Kurt Eisner, Bertolt Brecht, Paul Levi, Albert Kuntz, Augustin Souchy, Ernst Toller, Fritz Kater, Exiled members: Ernst Thälmann, Rosa Luxemburg, Walter Ulbricht, Wilhelm Pieck, Heinrich Mann Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands Created on 23 May 1863, the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) is the oldest party in Germany and among the most powerful leftist parties in non-Syndicalist Europe. First countered by the social welfare reforms of Bismarck, the socialists, divided between pro-Revolution and Democrats, increased its influence within the Reichstag, becoming the strongest party in 1912, on the eve of the Weltkrieg. Before the Weltkrieg it was the strongest party in the Reichstag. During the Weltkrieg the supporters of the old form of social democracy split off into the USPD. After a failed peaceful revolution in September 1918, both parties once more reconciled and reunited under the banner of the SPD. The SPD was the most vocal opponent of the Ludendorff dictatorship and the target of many government instructed sanctions. SPD representatives were present at the dismissal of the dictator and many people within the Empire attribute the fall of the dictatorship to them. Under Germany’s "second-greatest" chancellor, Alfred von Tirpitz, the SPD also has had to struggle against increasing levels of wealth among workers leading to decreased electoral output even in former core territories. The SPD's voter block is mostly among the lower classes and the industrial areas along the Rhine in the Kingdom of Saxony and in cities in Silesia, but Elsaß-Lothringen is also proving to be a hotbed of German social democracy, especially after the decline of the Zentrum and the ongoing centralization efforts of the government. The party is split in two wings: The left wing of the party, which mostly consists out of ex-Independents who retained their earlier convictions, while the right-wing of the party mostly consists of trade union leaders and government leaders. The left-wing is lead by Max Seydewitz. They operated from a popular base in Thuringia and Saxony, which together comprised 17% of total SPD membership. Other left-wing strongholds were Berlin, Breslau, Frankfurt, Königsberg and Stettin. As a rule, leftists found greatest support in urban and industrialized districts. They were also influential in Socialist cultural organizations and youth groups. On the SPD's right flank, reformists placed more emphasis on nuts-and-bolts work and less on theory, Marxism or parliamentarianism. Trade union officials, who had sustained reformism since the 1890s, often fit this bill, rarely speaking in Reichstag on issues other than those directly affecting organized labor. Many older Staatspolitiker, who had championed patriotism and cooperation with bourgeois forces even before 1914, could be classified as reformists. Of the various political tendencies in the SPD, neo-revisionism fits least comfortably into a model of the party's ideological spectrum based on a pre-war scheme. Its adherents followed Bernstein in their desire for the SPD to jettison obsolescent Marxist assumptions, acknowledge the centrality of ethical concerns, and become a people's party. Unlike Bernstein, however, they viewed patriotism as a potentially positive, integrative political force. Younger neorevisionists were also impressed by the anti-materialist socialism outlined by the Belgian Hendrik de Man in Psychology of Socialism (1926), a book condemned by orthodox Marxists. Most of all, though, neorevisionists were militant democrats who passionately argued the political significance of such symbolic issues as the colors of the flag. They described themselves as Lassalleans and often invoked the French Revolution as their ideal. A third group of rightists in the SPD was neither strictly reformist nor revisionist. Staatspolitiker ''put down roots in Prussia. Ernst Heilmann (leader of the parliamentary faction of the SPD in Prussia), Otto Braun, Carl Severing, and Albert Grzesinski steered a steady reformist course in Prussia. Social ties and ideological affinities existed between these politicians and the militant democrats, although they did not join in their younger comrades' antibureaucratic campaigns or publicly endorse their calls to revise Marxism. '''Chairman:' Otto Wels, de-facto leader of the SPD following the death of Hermann Müller in 1931, born on the 15 September 1873; and Arthur Crispien, who became co-chairman of the SPD following the reunification of the USPD and SPD, born on the 4th November 1875. Other members:'' Friedrich Ebert, Hans Vogel, Kurt Schumacher, Gustav Noske, Karl Kautsky, Erich Ollenhauer, Otto Braun , Carl Severing, Albert Grzesinski , Ernst Heilmann, Fritz Naphtali, Rudolf Hilferding, Rudolf Wissell, Hans Staudinger, Max Seydewitz, Rudolf Breitscheid, Gustav Radbruch, Julius Leber, Paul Löbe Fortschrittliche Volkspartei Created on 6 March 1910, the '''FVP' (Progressive People's Party) is the social liberal alternative to the NLP. During the Weltkrieg the deputies in the Reichstag supported the Peace Resolution in 1917 and supported Reichskanzler von Bethmann-Hollweg’s reforms. The party opposed the Hindenburg-Ludendorff dictatorship, becoming a vocal advocate of political liberalization and gathering a lot of support among liberal civil servants. The FVP therefore managed to become the largest bourgeois opposition party after the 1923 elections – but wasn't able to capitalise on this success properly. The party lost many seats in the disastrous elections of 1928 and 1932. The SPD presented itself as a more credible alternative when it comes to economical and social matters. The party is at a crossroads. The current chairman and leader of the social wing, Anton Erkelenz , is supported by most members. He supports Friedrich Naumann's socially reformative and socially liberal visions; thus he supports social reforms in favour of the poor, voting rights for women, strong economic interventionism on behalf of the state and support of implementing proportional representation. He also wants to rekindle the SPD-FVP-Zentrum alliance; although he only wants to coalition with the trade union elements of the Zentrum, as he opposes the right-wing under Franz von Papen. The largely irrelevant right-wing of the party, led by Erich Koch-Weser, wants to move the party to the right join the Zentrum-DkP-DRP alliance. Chairman: Anton Erkelenz, head of the Hirsch-Duncker unions, the liberal-aligned unions in Germany. Born on 10th October 1878. Other members: Walther Rathenau , Wilhelm Külz, Otto Geßler, Theodor Heuss, Albert Einstein, Ernst Trendelenburg, Franz Blücher, Paul Kempner, Reinhold Maier, Thomas Dehler, Wilhelm Röpke Nationalliberale Partei Created on 17th November 1866, the NLP (National Liberal Party) once was a foundation on which Bismarck built his government – but after the Iron Chancellor made his “conservative turn”, the party's influence started to wane. During the Weltkrieg, the once powerful NLP didn’t have much influence in a Reichstag dominated by the centre-left, and when the DVLP was created for a moment it seemed that the party would simply be swallowed by von Tirpitz's movement, which aimed for a complete unification of German right under the proud Admirals banner. It would probably have happened, had it not been for one man – Gustav Stresemann. Stresemann’s NLP did not actively oppose the Ludendorff dictatorship, but was also aware that it would not last for long. After Ludendorff's downfall the party entered the DVLP led coalition, becoming the third biggest party with the second most seats in the Reichstag. During von Tirpitz’ tenure as chancellor, the Nationalliberale Partei supported German colonialism, especially in Africa and Asia, expanding the military (especially the navy), liberal economic policies of the government, moderate expansions of social welfare system, and became champion of German industry. NLP criticized agricultural subsidies, pushed for a more peaceful foreign policy (because of Stresemann’s attempts German-Russian relations greatly improved, which opened up Russian market to German companies), and remained ambiguous on the matter of possible political liberalization. Indeed, because of Stresemann the party flourished, and because of his demise it began to wither. A short leadership by his successor, Dingeldey, led the NLP to the worst electoral result in the party’s history. He was not able to secure a place for the party in the DkP-DRP-Zentrum alliance. Industry giants and other wealthy supporters began looking for a new champion of their interests, and some of the more common members joined other parties. The party could only secure around 20 seats in the 1932 election and isn’t a part of any major coalition. After the failure in the elections, Dingeldey resigned as chairman of the NLP, eventually being replaced by the Reichsbank President Hjalmar Schacht. Julius Curtius has been chosen as the new chancellor option of the party, him trying to go in a completely different direction from Stresemann, focusing on trying to reform Mitteleuropa in a more fair economic union, and expanding it into the rest of Europe. He sees the ‘attractive’ union as a way to shackle other economies to the German one, furthering Germany by promoting European peace and enlarging its market. Chairman: Hjalmar Schacht,'' President of the Reichsbank. Born on 22nd January 1877. '''Members: Eugen Schiffer, Julius Curtius, Ludwig Fulda, Albert von Dufour-Feronce, Ludwig Kastl, Wilhelm Waetzoldt, Hans Heinrich Lammers, Gerhard Graf von Kanitz, Franz Brüninghaus, Alexander Graf zu Dohna-Schlobitten Deutsche Zentrumspartei Created on 13 December 1870, the Zentrum (Centre) has always represented the interests of German Catholics. The party fiercely fought Bismarck’s Kulturkampf, and even after the Iron Chancellor abandoned it, Zentrum remained opposed to his government. After Bismarck’s resignation in 1890, it frequently supported the following administrations' policies in the Reichstag, particularly in the field of social security, while concentrating on internal debate whether Zentrum should remain an exclusively Catholic party, or open up to a broader electorate. While the party supported the German war effort, over the years it became one of the leading advocates of early peace, voting for the Reichstag’s Peace Resolution of 1917, under the guise of the leader of the parliamentary faction, Matthias Erzberger . The party opposed the Ludendorff dictatorship, although it refrained from public manifestations or other organized forms of protest during the war, not wishing to become associated with leftist revolutionaries. The party tried to gain the support of the Catholic workers with the Cologne program; a move which failed horribly and caused the Bavarian branch of the Zentrum to leave the party in 1923, however it remained in a parliamentary faction with the Zentrum. Wilhelm Marx’s attempt at trying to unite the different wings of the party to prevent more electoral losses weren’t successful. This caused the right-wing centralists under Franz von Papen to assume leadership; this caused the left-wing to turn their back on the party and form local splinter parties, with the BVP also leaving the parliamentary faction for good. The party found an ally in the newly reformed DkP and won the 1932 elections as a minority coalition partner with them. Heinrich Brüning is still leading the remains of the original federalist elements, hoping to reunite with the federalist BVP and the splinter parties and bring the party back on track. The right-wing centralists are supported by the Christian trade unions, lead by Adam Stegerwald. Chairman: Franz von Papen, born on 26th November 1885. Members: Heinrich Brüning, Adam Stegerwald, Heinrich Brauns, Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig Kaas Deutsche Reichspartei Founded in 1866, the DRP ''(German Imperial Party)'' is a liberal conservative party in the German Empire. Well into the 1890s the DRP tried to act as a compromiser inbetween the NLP and the DkP. Their lack of centralization and willingness to reform cost them many seats in the Reichstag. By the beginning of the 20th century the number of Junkers and military men steadily increased which drew the party closely to the DkP. It opposed the democratic alliance of the SPD, FVP and Zentrum together with the DkP during the Weltkrieg. The party supports colonialism and the buildup of the Imperial fleet while it opposes the reform of the Prussian voting system and supports the status quo. After the Weltkrieg, many members proceeded to silently support the Ludendorff dictatorship. After Ludendorff's fall and Alfred von Tirpitz was made Reichskanzler, it happily joined the Grand Coalition and became the smallest member of the right-wing alliance. The party supported many of the laws passed by the DVLP. Following Tirpitz’ death in 1930, the party started to antagonize Hugenberg's DVLP and instead joined Kuno von Westarps DkP-Zentrum alliance as a minority partner, but is a mere shadow of it. The party formerly consisted of two wings; the traditionalist-authoritarian wing and the radical pan-German wing. Most members, including the influential Eduard von Liebert, left for good after the formation of the DVLP in 1918. While it regained some of its former base after the downfall of the DVLP, it's future however depends on the DkP to not reform into a conservative people's party, or otherwise the DRP and its regional elements would be swiftly absorbed. Chairman: '''Siegfried von Kardorff, born on 4th February 1873 '''Members: Paul Lejeune-Jung, Fritz Thyssen, Joachim von Ostau, Robert Lehr, Ulrich von Sell, Arthur Mahraun, Hermann Klingspor, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Deutschkonservative Partei Created on 7 June 1876, the DkP '(''German Conservative Party) from the very beginning represented the interests of landed Prussian nobility, conservative Protestants, and other supporters of the Hohenzollern monarchy, although it was at first sceptical of German unification. The DKP was very influential during the Bismarck era, especially after the chancellors shift toward protectionism, and remained important during the early years of the 20th century. Unfortunately, after 1912, the party did not manage to remain the leading force of German right, and its ineffectiveness in combating the SPD-Zentrum-FVP alliance in the Reichstag during the war sparked the creation of the DVLP, which took large amount of its supporters and members. It initially supported the Ludendorff dictatorship, but turned against it in the 1920s. After the 1923 elections, the DkP under Ernst von Heydebrand und der Lasa and Kuno Graf von Westarp reluctantly joined the Great Coalition. During von Tirpitz's tenure as chancellor the DkP once more supported the royal family, and the current constitutional system as well as the continued existence of Mitteleuropa, seeing it as a much better alternative to annexations and colonization. They mostly care about agricultural subsidies, which are essential to ensuring the well-being of Prussian landowners, their core electorate. The conservatives oppose German colonialism in Africa and Eastern Europe and call for more protectionism. After the 1928 elections, Kuno von Westarp, under the pressure of the growing DVLP began the process of modernising the DkP to also attract urban right wing voters and reform into a conservative-tent party. Inspired by von Bismarck, von Westarp calls for an expansion of the social welfare system with hopes of gaining support from Zentrum voters, but at the same time the DkP started supporting the Zentrum's proposals of fighting the inflation by reducing spending, although even after the scandal of 1923 the party never withdrew its support to agricultural subsidies. After the surprising death of Alfred von Tirpitz in 1930, the Kaiser picked von Westarp as his successor. Following two years of uneventful rule, the German electorate voted to let von Westarp be the new administrator and keeper of its wealth. Kuno von Westarp has done as was demanded, and the last few years have been quiet, with as little change as possible. The party continues to support the centralization of the Empire and strictly opposes voting reforms. '''Chairman: Kuno von Westarp, current Chancellor of the German Empire. Born on 12 August 1864. Members: Oskar von Hindenburg, Wilhelm von Gayl, Walter von Brauchitsch, Adolf Tortilowicz von Batocki-Friebe, Robert von Keyserlingk-Cammerau, Elard von Oldenburg-Januschau, Richard Kunze, Werner von Alvensleben, Ulrich von Hassell, Johannes Popitz, Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, Friedrich-Werner von der Schulenberg, Hansjoachim von Rohr Deutsche Vaterlandspartei The DVLP ''(German Fatherland Party) was formed as the front of the Alldeutscher Verband in late 1917, to represent the jingoist, anti-democratic and radical nationalist political class. As they were the most ardent supporters of a military dictatorship, the DVLP received some backing from Ludendorff and vice versa. When he was toppled, the Kaiser picked Alfred von Tirpitz, the leader of the DVLP as Reichskanzler. Tirpitz’ pragmatism got the better of him and he created a broad right-wing coalition to solve issues left by the Ludendorff dictatorship and the war. This, while increasing his appeal considerably, drew the ire of the party members who still saw the military dictatorship as the true, superior form of government for Germany, and accepted no substitution. They tried to separate themselves from the new members of the party, under the leadership of Alfred Hugenberg. Prominent members of his circle include Heinrich Claß, leader of the Alldeutscher Verband, and Reinhold Wulle. However, since von Tirpitz’ pragmatism was the reason of this shift, the new members followed him and not the party and once he died, Hugenberg managed to maneuver around the members still left that were von Tirpitz’ followers and became the party chairman, with many ‘moderate’ members moving towards the DkP and DRP. Hugenberg, being denied chancellorship by the Kaiser, has also turned on Kaiser Wilhelm II, who he now sees as his arch-enemy. The platform of the party demands the destruction of parliamentarism and socialism, the removal of rights of the Jewry, and the unification of all German lands (Austria and the lands of the Bohemian crown). Hugenberg has already a man in mind for the job, the general and secret service veteran Kurt von Schleicher. '''Chairman: Alfred Hugenberg, born on 19th June 1865. Members: Walter von Lüttwitz, Ernst Röhm, Wilhelm Kube, Otto von Feldmann, Christian Mergenthaler, Artur Dinter, Reinhold Wulle, Franz Xaver Ritter von Epp, Albert Vögler, Eduard Ritter von Schleich, Hugo Sperrle Category:German-related topics